Ten tailed Sakura
by shadow-neko-hime
Summary: Yuki and Kai Haruno were about to be parents. The problem? Sakura, their baby was going to be born only to die. Now they seek the help of the ten tailed demon. Sakura survived but now what troubles have risen? The Uchiha and Haruno massacre? Itachi was at fault for the Uchiha massacre but who was to blame for the Haruno massacre? SasuSaku/ItaSaku. R&R plz
1. Prolouge

She screamed in pain, holding onto her stomache, and sweat dripping down her chin. Her silver colored hair clung onto her skin as she shut her light green eyes. Black paint decorated her naked figure as her husband chanted the jutsu needed. It was dificult for the man to see his wife in such a state. Nearby was the ten tailed wolf demon, its black figure trying to keep the winds at bay from the woman who was at this moment giving birth to its vessel.

Yes, there was no story about the ten tailed one but it did exist. It was this very creature that gave the Haruno clan their power, just as the nine tailed one had done for the Uchiha. Now, however, it felt its life was close to its end, its only option was to live in another. It was the only way to save the demon but that was not the reason it had been summoned by this couple.

The couple before it were in need of life energy for their dying child. Everything had been done to save her but it was no use, her life was said to end before it had even begun. The mother could not bear to hear such news and so had discovered her clans' secrets. And only one secret was what she needed and it had just so happend that it needed her too.

And so the deal was made. In order for this to wrok, however, a life needed to be given; hers. She knew this but was determined to give her child a chance at life.

She screamed once more in pain as the decorations on her skin began to glow an erie shade of red. The hands of her husband floated just aabove her buldging stomache, pouring his chakra into the seal.

"It is time." The demon said in a sultry tone. It stood on all fours before the couple, its fur rustling in the wind as it got ready for what was to come. In one swift motion though the demon became nothing but dark smoke, making its way unto the child that now cried as it was born. The mother however now stood still, inhaling her last deep breathe before it left her cold. At that same instant something none had forseen happend. The man that now carried his child in his arms gasped in pain before he too left this worl.

All his chakra had been drained from his body. The jutsu had depleted him of all of it that it now took his life energy. The demon felt a sense of vertigo as it was sucked into the chlds body. It seemed like an eternity before it opened its eyes to see the couple dead beneath it. And thats when it understood, it was looking out from the new borns eyes.

The child had vibrant green eyes that leaked salty water as it cried, and silver locks mixed with black. Her skin was a soft pale complexion and cold. With that thought the demon summoned its chakra, shooting it into the surface as a signal for anybody who knew the couple who had given their lives for the child.

What had transpired was not as they had wished though, for eventhough the demon still held consience it had become part of the child thus her black locks mixed with silver dyed in blood. They were now one.


	2. Chapter 1

**Ok, I know the prolouge was very short and not that good. So, to make up for that here is the first chapter. Thanks to those of you that reviewd, it helps a lot to know that some of you actually gave my story a chance ^_^. I'm fairly new at this so I will try to make later chapters better and longer.**

**Oh, by the way, I in no way, shape, or form own Naruto or any of its characters.**

**I, however, do own this story and the outfits Sakura will be wearing. I will be posting the outfits and so forth as soon as I am able.**

** ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~**

The day had started like any other with Sakura attending her clan studies in the morning and playing with Sasuke and Itachi afterwards. Their clans had decided after all, that she would wed one of the Uchiha brothers in order to unite the clans. Even before that though, she and the brothers had been friends and she loved them both very much.

She had so much fun playing with them that she had not foreseen what would transpire later in the middle of the night. She had been woken by her father and a series of screams outside her room. The clan had been attacked and all able bodied ninjas had been batteling whatever enemy stood outside her home. Her father had quickly had taken her in his arms, taking her to what he assumed would be a safe place. On the way there she saw many of her clan being cut down, brutally and unmercyfully before her eyes.

The attackers had been so quick her eyes could not see them. It was like ghosts had suddenly appeared with a vengeance. Her eyes began to water and her stomache began to hurt in all that too familiar burn from when she was sick. She had then been put down next to the clans secret underground tunnels. "I'll need you to stay hidden, Sakura. If anything happens you know where to go." The man before her had said in a grave tone. His green eyes, that were so much like hers, looked down into her own in sadness.

"But what about you, daddy?" the five year old had asked in tears. Many of the houses now were being engulfed by fire. The stench of blood and smoke rose up about her making her little heart pound strong against her chest. He shook his head.

"I have to help here. Don't worry though, I'm sure the other kids will be with you. Everything will be fine, you'll see." At that point the man didnt know if he was trying to reasure her or himself. He looked at her one last time, seeing how much she resemlbed her mother with her small nose and jade colored eyes. An explosion then sounded behind him, bringing him out of his revirie. He pushed Sakura towards the tunnels, ushering her to safety.

She looked back at him one last time and began to run, crystal tears falling behind her.

Now Sakura ran fast through the forest sorrounding her village. She had seen the man that caused all the trouble and she couldnt believe it. He was suppose to be good, he was suppose to protect her and her clan. Wasn't that the job of the Hokage after all?

Still she ran, knowing he was persuing her in a sick game of cat and mouse. She kept running, uncaring of the low branches that hung and scratch at her bared skin. Her hair now was free of its usual low ponytail, flowing freely behind her in its bi colored tangled mess. The little voice that usually got her in trouble was now exclaiming profanities, willing Sakura to run faster, to out run the man behind her. Yet, despite his old age he was Hokage for a reason. Sakura just couldnt understand why he would play with her in such a way. Why prolong her death?

'I won't be able to keep running for much longer.' She thought in fear, her eyes darting this way and that for a place to hide. She was, after all, the best hide n' go seeker of all time, if she did say so herself. Surely she could hide from the Hokage too. 'Are you crazy? He's a ninja you dimwit!' inner Sakura, as she had named her, shouted.

'But, I can't keep going, inner.' Sakura thought back, tears streaming down her dirtied cheeks as she kept pushing her body for survival. 'Shit!' the voice cursed in a harsh whisper. With that the Hokage appeared before Sakura with the kind smile she had always seen him with, making her stop abruptly. She scrambled back in fear, tripping as she did, staring at him as she would death itself.

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?" He asked even as he brandished a blood soaked sword. Sakura's eyes went from the weapon then to the man as her heart fluttered in despair. "Y-you...k-killed them." She whimpered, as her entire being trembled. His smile didn't falter, if anything it only widend, almsot baring his teeth. This made Sakura shiver more than before, uneasiness taking hold of her heart as she stared up at him. 'RUN!' the voice inside her head exclaimed, making Sakura's limbs do as ordered.

The odd thing was though that suddenly everything seemed to get bigger, and her center seemed to shift as what landed on the ground next was not her feet but four paws. Her senses sharpend at an alarming rate, making her able to see everything clearer, hear all the screams behind her, and smell all the burning bodies. Her stomache lurched as bile began to rise up in her throat. She couldnt move and her mind seemed to idle as she layed in a heap on the forest floor. 'Sakura, get up! I did not save you just so you can get yourself killed so early in life!' the voice growled out.

Yet Sakura could not hear her for her head swam with so much information, everything around her seemed to want her attetion. Like the bark of the tree in front of her, how every little splinter seemed to be seperate or how the blades of grass had such a strong fragrance. Even the loud foot steps coming her way seemed to boom and cause the earth to quake beneath her. It was too much for her and so the darkness beckoned her and held her in its cold embrace.

The Hokage now looked down at the furred figure as it lay before his feet. Its breath was slow and the figure didn't so much as squirme. How vile, unnatural, it was. It had no place in this world. He didnt hold this much anger towards Naruto though for he was not mixed with his demon. He was simply housing it. Unlike the thing that lay before it now. No being, much less a little, emotional, girl should be allowed to hold such power. Only God could and as far as he knew, that thing was no God.

He lifted his sword above the prone figure, ready to sheath it in its flesh. That is until a fireball flew right towards him. He dodged just in time, however, turned towards his assailant. Uchiha Itachi stood before him now, blood soaked, and with his Sharingan activated. The Hokage smiled, making more wrinlkes appear on his already aged features. "Have you delt with your clan so fast already?" The Hokage asked the teen before him.

"I have." Itachi answered. His eyes traveled then to the furred figure that layed a few feet away from him. "I was not informed that you would be hunting." He said in a calmly manner. The Hokage knew though of his allegiance to the Haruno child. He also knew that the Uchihas knew of her true self. "It seemed fitting that the village should be desposed of all trash." The hokage said, catching how Itachi's eyes seemed to shrink in a frown. "Trash." The Uchiha intoned, as if testing the word that rolled off his toung. It did not fit her, he decided.

"I'm sorry, but, I cannot let you harm her." Itachi said as he blew another fire ball at his once leader. "You've become too soft itachi, your father would be dissapointed." The Hokage said as he too began to form seals for a jutsu. Itachi glared and flash stepped towards the Hokage, weapon in hand as he dodged a couple of mud balls that the earth itself shot at him. They moved quickly in a deadly dance, only appearing every now and then as their weapons met at a dead lock.

At this Sasuke came out of his hiding place, careful not to attract any attention as he moved from shadow to shadow as his brother had tought him. He made his way to the wolf pup and just as he was about to ben in arms reach of her a kunai was thrown between them. This made him retract his arm towards his person in order to keep the apendage.

"Watch out Sasuke!" Itachi exclaimed as he ran for the Hokage who was making his way to the children. He managed to tackle him, injuring him with a kunai as he did so. "Take Sakura and run!" Itachi said and began to fight with the Hokage once more.

Sasuke did as he was told quickly, making his way through the bushes with Sakura in his arms. He too knew why Sakura was how she was at the moment, it was after all a secret entrusted to his clan. It was one of the reasons his father had agreed to an arranged marriage between she and his sons. He had wanted more power, after all. Sasuke looked down in his arms at the wolf pup. How could it be possible to actually turn into a wolf? He knew the Inuzuka could do this with their dogs but that was a jutsu. This, in his arms, was nothing of the sort.

Even so, he knew it was her for her subtle breathe came out the same. He knew her well enough to know that even the slightest twitch was her. With that thought he made his way to the hide out he and his brother had agreed on and waited in the small place.

Tears streamed down his cheeks then for how they had suffered this night. He had lost his family at the hands of his brother, who had been wronglu ordered by their Hokage to murder his own family. The same Hokage who had murdered the Haruno clan. What had they done wrong? Surely whatever Itachi had been told was wrong and thus the reason he had been kept alive. Also the reason he was fighting their Hokage now. There was just no reason his brother was bad. Right? He had been tricked. Right?

Sasuke looked down at his hands in thought to see midnight, black, fur. It was soft and warm under his hands, heating up his body like a blanket. Outside of the hide out was cold in the autum night, the wind bellowing past trees, rustling the leaves on them.

A twig was then snaped, alerting Sasuke to someone being near. He shuffled back further into the small like cave, trying to keep himself hidden, just like his brother told him to.

"Sasuke?" Itachi's voice sounded behind the foliage that hid the child and the pup. With a smile Sasuke then scrambled toward the entrance and moved to itachi's side. "Are you alright?" Itachi asked as his eyes roamed the two figures. Sasuke nodded and soon Itachi ushered him away from what once was their home, their village, their lives. "Where are we going brother?" Sasuke asked, still holding on to the unconscious Sakura. "Akatsuki." Itachi replied with a smile.


	3. Chapter 2

Sasuke wasnt jealouse of her. Obviously. He just didnt understand why his brother payed so much attention to Sakura. She was a year younger than himself, she was a cry baby, and didnt like to hurt others. She cared too much about other's opinions and emotions. Add to the fact that she herself was very emotinal. All in all she was as usefull as the doll her featurse resembled. Even his mother had said she looked like one with her flawless skin, vibrant green eyes, and soft, dual, colored hair. Maybe his brother simply liked her? Sasuke shook his head at this. 'Itachi can't like her like that, she has cooties.' Sasuke thought as he looked up at his brother, watching as he ran his fingers through Sakura's mane. 'Maybe he wants to keep her as a pet?' He wondered, his brows scrunching in thought. After all she did seem to be stuck in that form. At this thought he tugged on Itachi's shirt making him stop in their trek.

"Are we going to have to buy her a doggy bed?" Sasuke asked as he pointed to Sakura's form. At this Sakura's form seemed to go rigid as Itachi's lips pulled at the corners in a small smile. "I don't think that will be necesary, Sasuke. I'm sure once she has her emotions under control she'll turn back to normal." itachi informed.

With that having been said, Itachi took Sasuke's hand and continude to lead him foreward. His smile had now vanished, the edges pulling down in a frown, his sharingan activated and scanning the foliage in front of him. He had children to protect after all, children which had not yet started their ninja training. They were only five and could barely hold onto a kunai properly, if Sasuke's attempts were anything to go by.

Itachi looked up at the sky then. The sun was setting and they barely made any distance from their home. Having children with him proved to be difficult as they could move no faster then they were at the moment. He knew that at any moment Anbu would begin to persue them and it wouldnt take them long to find them. He also knew that just because he had children with him didnt mean they would go easy on him. With that he made his desicion. "Hold on to me." He ordered as he lifted Sasuke by his arm, and putting him on his back. Sasuke did as he was told, putting his arms around Itachi's neck, loosely at first until Itachi decided that jumping from tree branches was a faster way to wherever they were going.

Itachi, however, didnt so much as flinch on Sasuke's strong hold around his neck. He would just have to deal with it for a moment. His analytical mind went through everything the children would need and he knew that he would need to stop by a village if only to feed them. Thats when he saw, or actually; heard a water fall nearby. If there were fish there he could cook them and get a drink of water. He'd still have to be quick though. With one last rush of chakra against the branch he landed besides the water fall.

"Cool." He heard Sasuke murmur, letting go of his brother in the proccess. "You two get as much water as you need, stay close though." Itachi said as he put Sakura on the ground and handed Sasuke a canteen. With a nod Sasuke ran to the river putting water in the canteen first. That is until he turned around to see Sakura trying to walk on wobbly legs. He let out a bought of laughter, exagerating as he did so. Sakura growled at him, trying to be intimidating in the small furred form. Ofcourse not even her canines were sharp at this stage of her developement. Itachi noticed this and sent a small frown of disaproval towards Sasuke who did not notice in his laughter.

_"Shut up Sasuke-duckbutt!"_ she exclaimed in thought. At this Sasuke did stop in surprise. "Woah, you can talk." He said in wonder. He walked up to her and crouched down at her eye level, or as much as he could. "Can you do it again?" he asked. She growled at him then, the sound vibrating in her chest and escaping through her exposed canines. He frowned at this, his lips setting in a pout. "No, do what you did before." He tried to explain. _"What? Call you a duck-butt?"_ She thought with a frown.

"Stop playing around and come eat. Anbu could be on our trail as we speak." Itachi chastised as he got out of the water having already caught some fish. With a pout Sasuke walked to where Itachi was in the middle of making a fire to cook the fish. Sakura noded, the motion feeling odd in her current figure. She put one paw infront of the other but began to stumble. "Don't think about how and just think of where you want to go, I'm sure your body already knows what to do." Itachi said without turning to look at her.  "He's right you know." The voice in her head perked up. _"Easy for you to say."_ Sakura thought back as she looked doown at her paws. "Just try it, Sakura." Itachi replied.

With a nod Sakura began to do as she was told. She slowly began to make her way to Itachi's figure until her ears perked up, alerting to something incoming. She jumped back on instinct, so fast she was a black blur to the untrained eye. At that same moment itachi had grabbed Sasuke and made his way into the forestry they had come from. In the next second people in animal masks made their way towards her, seeing her as the first and easiest target. "Run, you idiot! Or better yet use your powers!" The voice ordered in fustration. In that instant instinct overode rationality and Sakura began to growl and glower at the anbu that came closer to her. Her growls did nothing to scare them though as one came closer to her, making to grab her as the others made their way through the foliage, obviously after Sasuke and Itachi.

With one last look in the direction Itachi and Sasuke had gone she ran into the forest behind her, the opposite way from where they had gone. The Anbu had slit up into two teams, the majority going for Sasuke and Itachi while only one of them made to go for her. However the anbu behind her was fast, his hands swiping behind her, trying to catch her. All the while she ran faster and faster still until she ran straight into a shadow of a bush, her form disapearing into it. _"What happend?"_ She thought in wonder as she could still see the Anbu making its way past her concealed form. "You are in a shadow, idiot. Think of it as a room only you can walk into and look out of but others can't see or sense you while in it. Its kind of handy in situation like this. You can even travel within them towards any location you want. All you have to do is think about it." Inner chirped in.

_"Can it take me to Itachi and Sasuke?"_ Sakura asked as she looked at her sorroundings. From what she could see, she had become a part of the shadows while still being seperated from them somehow. "They can only take you where you know. For exampe; they can't take you to Suna because you've never been there." Inner informed. This made sakura frown in thought. _"Then how will I find them?"_ she asked, her stomache already doing little, nervouse, flips in her stomache. "Looks like we'll have to go look for them." inner stated in all obviouseness. With a nod and an intake of breathe Sakura hesitantly stepped out of the shadows.

With a quick once over in her sorroundings she made a run for the direction she had seen them go. Ofcourse it didnt take long to find out where he was as she saw a fireball being ignited in the direction he had gone.

~O~O~O~O~

Itachi had sensed them coming only a second too late and had to make a quick decision. So with a seconds delay he grabbed Sasuke and headed towards the trees they had come from. Yes, he had felt guilty in leaving Sakura behind but he had a choice to make. In the moment where he had first taken his step onto a tree branch he felt Sakura's chakra dart away and eventually disapear completely. During that moment he had felt horrible. And so he put Sasuke down, shielding him behind his body and turned to face the anbu. He didn't know if he would win this fight, he was after all out numbered.

There in a another branch stood two anbus, one wearing a tiger mask and another wearing a hawk mask. In another branch, behind the two, was one wearing a dog mask. He knew these Anbu, worked with them even on several occasions. Yet it did nothing to quench the burning in his chest at the thought of Sakura, laying dead somewhere.

"By orderes of the Hokage, your to be taken into cust-" the hawk masked Anbu had then jumped back after feeling a killing intent eminating from one of the last Uchihas. The Anbu then looked to his previouse spot to see a kunai weged into the bark of the tree. With that the battle had begun with Itachi. A series a shuriken and kunai had been thrown at him, all of which he reflected with his own kunai in hand and dodged the rest. All the while Sasuke sat behind him in awe. He had known his brother was strong he just never knew he could hold his own against three anbu.

Thats when Itachi took hold of Sasuke once more and lept to another tree branch, having sensed chakra behind him. In the midst of all the weapons being thrown at him the dog masked Anbu had snuck behind him. With Sasuke still in his arms he turned towards the Anbu and blew many fire balls aimed towards them. They dodged them with expert ease while one of them did hand signs. As the last fireball had been blown at them a sudden chirping was heard as lighting formed around the dog masked Anbu. Itachi's eyes widend at this of only for a moment. "I see you've finally perfected it." Itachi comented as if he was bored.

The Anbu tensed at this as if in anger and promptly ran towards itachi, hand outstreached towards him. Itachi, with Sasuke still in his arms, dodged as he jumped onto another tree branch. It was there that a blade pierced him in the chest, going all the way through Sasuke's own body. Behind Itachi stood the Anbu with a hawk masked, hand wrapped around the dull side of the sword he had used. "Hn, clever." Itachi had said as turned once again to the dog masked Anbu. Itachi smirked as a trail of bllood left his lips. "But too late, Kakashi." He uttered before he and sasuke dissapeared in a flock of crows.

"Where did he go?" the Anbu wearing the tiger mask asked. "Too far to go after him now." Kakashi replied. "And out of our jurisdiction. Looks like he was headed towards Sand. We'd have to ask for permision to enter their lands first." The hawk masked man said as he looked towards the horizon. With a nod they all dissapeared into the foliage like the ninjas they were.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~

"What about Sakura-chan?" Sasuke asked as they traveled through the tree tops. At the last moment Itachi had used an illusion jutsu, one he had crafted. Ofcourse he hadn't counted on Hatake having perfected his own jutsu. The fight would have ended rather quickly if he hadn't. Sasuke poked at his brother after recieving no answer, prodding him for one.

A presence before them caused Itachi to pause in his stride, crouching as he did in a defence position. "Don't worry, I've got your pup, she's safe." Said the bicolored figure before them as he sprouted from the bark of a tree. Half his face wass black with a round yellowe eye, while the other half was white with normal featurse. He had green hair and two large venus fly-trap like extensions that envelop his head and upper body, giving him a plant-like appearance. **"That was a good fight by the way."** the black half then said with a smile. At this Sasuke moved from itachi's grasp in order to better see the...palnt, he decided, before him.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" He demanded with a frown, trying to intimidate the plant before him as much as a five year could against an assasin. "At the camp I set up near the border." the white half responded. He then turned, **"We'll show you the way."** the black half said and began to move through the forest as if he were a ghost, moving through things as he did. With a frown Itachi hesitantly followed, after all this could always be a trap.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow it's been forever since I last posted something. In my defense I had a lot of things to do these past few years. I had started writing my own book which I hope to see on the shelves of nearby bookstores real soon (if I could get a publisher anyways). Also family drama and a virus killing my computer (those days were horrible for me, I felt like I had nothing to live for anymore as everything I had written was gone, just like that!).**

**Now I have a new computer and I am now saving everything I do on a flash drive, even going to far as to writing it on paper too just in case.**

**Anyways, I had a couple chapters made for this story but as I had stated before; all my work had disappeared. Now I have to think of something new and a direction for this story to go. Not to worry though the story will go on and I will finish it. It may not be every month as I have other things to do but I will try to post on a regular basis.**

**Also, I know some of you noticed that Sakura's parents had died in the prologue but her father was present in the first chapter. Don't worry it was not a mistake and you'll see why soon…or soon-ish. **

**This story won't only be about the Akatsuki and the fourth ninja war; it will also be about Sakura and her family. Not only will family secrets be revealed but also Konoha secrets.**

**I will try to follow the story line as much as possible but have in mind that I have changed quite a few things so most things won't appear in my story, like when Sakura and Sasuke get put into teams. Because Itachi took Sasuke with him they will be a bit OOC.**

**Kay then, let the story continue! :D**

**Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Naruto or any of its characters. I, however, do own this story.**

_"Thoughts."_

"Inner."

"Normal speech."

**"Black Zetsu."**

'Jutsu'

**Please R&R**

Chapter 3

Sakura sat on her haunches near the fire place the bi-colored plant-man had made. It had scared her when he had literally popped out of the ground and grabbed her by her paws. At first she had thought of running away or using whatever powers inner had said she had but the man hadn't given her a chance.

Instead of putting her back on the ground he put her under his arm as if she were an object and began to make camp before saying he was an ally. Whether he really was or not was left to be seen.

She looked around the area, still in her wolf-pup form, her ears swerving for any signs of Itachi or the plant-man being near.

"Have you thought of running away while that thing was gone? Oh wait," Inner said in sarcastic manner, frown clearly seen on her slightly larger than normal forehead. "We can't cause that bastard tied us up like an average mangy dog!"

Sakura looked slightly at the rope that hung from her neck to a nearby tree. Inner was right, this was humiliating. She was glad none of her cousins were with her at the moment for she was sure they'd make fun of her. At the thought guilt settled in causing her ears to pin at her head as a small whine formed in her chest.

She had almost forgotten the reason her cousins weren't with her at the moment. Though her cousins weren't the nicest people she never wished anything bad to happen to them.

Sakura looked down at her paws in thought. She had left the Haruno compound in such a hurry, trying to get away from that evil man, that she hadn't stop to see if any of her family had made it out.

"I doubt that bastard left anyone alive because then whoever survived would've said who was to blame. The only reason you're still breathing is because of Itachi." Inner said her voice almost a growl.

At that moment however her ears perked up at a slight shuffling of clothes and her paws felt the small quake of someone walking nearby. Her nose lifted to the air and caught the familiar scents of Itachi and Sasuke.

They made their way into the camp once she turned in the direction her senses had pointed her to. She instantly stood in happiness and wanted to make her way to them but was stopped by the rope that tugged at her neck.

"Sakura!" Sasuke said as he slid off of Itachi's back and ran to her, his arms circling her smaller form.

After the small hug they shared he made quick work of the rope and set her free.

**"Sorry about that Haruno-san, we just didn't want you running off while we went searching for your friends." **Black Zetsu said as he appeared in the camp, half his form still submerged in the ground.

"How do you know about Sakura?" Sasuke asked as he stepped in front of her in order to hide her form from the plant-man.

"Sasuke." Itachi reprimanded, keeping an eye on the shinobi before them.

Though he was grateful for finding and keeping Sakura safe he knew better than to simply trust someone just because they saved him and his charges.

"But, aniki! You said that Sakura's secret had to be a secret from everyone else except important people from the clans. He isn't from the clans." Sasuke said as he pointed to the ninja.

The ninja made his way out of the earth completely and held his hands up in a placating manner. "I know a lot of secrets. That's my job in the Akatsuki, which I was told I had to show you the way to." The white half replied.

He then turned to Itachi with a serious expression. **"We were told you'd be coming, but **we weren't told you'd be bringing brats with you."

"I don't have to explain myself to you. I wish to speak to your leader." Itachi said.

"Then you'll have to wait until tomorrow. We have a long ways to go still." Zetsu replied showing no emotion.

"We will wait here for the night." Itachi said and motioned for Sasuke and Sakura to go to his side.

Sasuke and Sakura did as they were told and laid at his side. Though they hadn't brought any sleeping mats with them they didn't complain. The ground would have to do for however long they needed. After all; t was better than being dead. Sasuke curled around Sakura as she gave off enough heat in her wolf-pup form to keep him from being cold.

"As you wish." Zetsu said and sat on the other side of the camp.

Once they were sure the children were asleep Itachi looked up from the fire to the ninja who was still wide awake.

With a small, barely audible sigh Itachi returned to staring at the fire before him. That night his parents had looked him straight in the eyes and told him how proud of him they were even though they knew his blade would soon take their lives.

They didn't seem afraid and they made no attempt to save their lives. Though he had initially thought to spare Sasuke the truth and have him live a semi normal life he couldn't do it. He couldn't leave Sasuke alone in a village where he would be constantly reminded of his family's demise. He couldn't bear to have Sasuke be fed lies about him either.

Even though he loved his brother he was going to keep the promise he made to his parents before ending their lives; to protect Sasuke. If that meant telling him the truth and taking him out of the village he had once loved so much then so be it.

He would know everything. He would know the Hokage had forced his hand and had been the one to kill the Haruno clan. He would know just the type of man the Hokage was. And with the help of this organization they will bring peace to not only the Village hidden in the leaf but the entire ninja nation.

All that was left was to see if that man; Madara Uchiha, was someone that could be trusted. If he wasn't….Itachi didn't know what he could do. He was taking a gamble to walk into this man's home and follow his orders. Not to mention he'd be walking there with children in hiss stead.

Out of the corner of his eyes a small, red, light brought him out of his reverie and caused him to look at his side, his muscles already tight in case he had to move quickly to get the children out of harms' way.

What he was not expecting however, was to find Sakura's form pulsing with that feint red light and then becoming a small girl once more.

Itachi's eyes slightly widened when her form appeared nude beside Sasuke who was at the moment fast asleep and unaware of what was going on. Itachi immediately took off his shirt and put it on Sakura, careful to not wake her up and cause her embarrassment.

After dressing her he shot a dirty look to the ninja on the other side of the camp only to find him looking away.

_"As he should." _ Itachi thought with a small frown.

The shirt he had put on her was a little big on her, which was a good thing but he knew he'd have to buy her something decent to wear. He couldn't exactly walk around without a shirt now could he? Neither could she walk around half naked.

Once the sun was beginning to rise in the horizon he woke up Sasuke and Sakura and had them hang onto him as he followed the ninja through the trees. Sasuke rode on his back while Sakura was in his arms.

Sakura had been surprised to find herself back in human form and wearing nothing but Itachi's dark blue shirt. Still her embarrassment was short lived as they began to make way to Amegakure. They had no time for explanations or small chit-chat, Itachi wanted to cover as much ground as he could though he preferred to be in Amegakure and the Akatsuki's hide out by the end of the day.

They stopped a couple times to eat or get a drink but other than that the pace never slowed and by the time they did they were drenched from the rain that covered the village before them. Still, Itachi didn't let the children down and he wouldn't until he was sure it was safe…and dry.

Everything around them seemed grey; the sky, the buildings, and even the people who looked at them with curiousness. Though they seemed curious they didn't get in their way and even went as far as to go into their homes.

Zetsu however, continued to lead them to the highest tower where he said the organization started and was held. Once the entered they found the first floor of the tower to be devoid of any furniture or color. It was as grey as it had been outside.

Once Itachi made sure that there were no traps he put Sasuke and Sakura down. Though Sasuke stayed close to Itachi it was Sakura that held onto his hand, pressing herself against his leg.

They made their way to the highest floor, passing by the kitchen and dining area as well as a room that had a television and couches. They didn't look as inviting as the ones they were used to but it did calm them to see normal things within the tower. The floors above that was nothing but halls of rooms with closed doors. What was behind those closed doors, they had yet to find out.

When they arrived to the highest floor Zetsu knocked two times and opened the door, letting Itachi and his charges enter first before closing the door.

In the room were seven people six males and one female. They all sat at a table in which a man with orange hair and ringed eyes sat as head of the group.

To his left sat a woman with blue hair and black eyes. In front of her Zetsu made his way and sat. Next to him sat a man with blue colored skin and shark-like features on his face.

Across from that man sat a boy with red hair and brown eyes. Beside him sat a man with long black hair and yellow eyes that reminded the children of a snake.

Across from him sat a man that wore a mask which kept most of his face hidden; only revealing his eyes which were green in color.

Itachi bowed to the man at the head of the table; to which Sasuke and Sakura did not do as they were too busy looking at the people in the room.

"Uchiha Itachi, I had expected you to be here sooner and only you." The man said as his eyes looked to the children that stood close to their guardian.

"My apologies Leader-sama, I made my way as fast as I could. As for the children I have brought them under my care in hopes that they'd be good future members." Itachi said though his voice and expression showed no emotion. Though that was not the reason he supposed saying so would keep them safe for a while.

"Future members?" The member asked then nodded his head, "Agreed."

"Come sit, and I will introduce you to the members of Akatsuki." Pein said.

As the introductions were made and Itachi received his Akatsuki cloak and ring they sat beside the man with the mask. The children sat quietly beside him, trying not to make eye contact with the snake man or any of the other members.

"And the children?" The leader asked causing the two to look at him.

"My younger brother Sasuke and our friend Sakura Haruno." Itachi replied.

Throughout the entire talk Sakura couldn't help but feel the snake-man's eyes constantly make their way to her and Sasuke, it sent shivers down her spine. Sasuke too had noticed and though the man was dangerous Sasuke sent glares at him.

"Has he awakened the sharingan?" The snake-man asked, his eyes leaving a moment from Sakura's form to study Sasuke.

"Not yet." Itachi replied curtly, not sure to distrust the man or not seeing as he had left the hidden village they were both from.

He knew of Orochimaru and new that he was not someone he wanted left alone with his brother, whether he had awakened the sharingan or not. And from the looks he was giving Sakura he couldn't leave her with him either, not that he had even thought of doing such a thing.

"And you little girl? Have you any dōjutsu?" Orochimaru asked as he looked at her with an unreadable expression.

Sakura looked up at him then at Itachi with her green, pupil-less eyes, unsure of how she should answer.

"As you already know, Orochimaru, the Haruno clan has the Nisshoku." Sasori said in a calm, emotionless, voice.

"I know that. I only wonder if she has it, I would like to know what it does. Don't you?" Orochimaru said as he looked to those around him who also sent curious gazes at her.

"That is true. The Haruno clan never did care to share its abilities with anyone. Now that it is assumed that she is the last one, we would like to know its abilities." Pein said and turned to the girl in question. "Do you know its powers, child?"

Sakura once more looked to Itachi for what she should do.

"Sakura is too young to have been taught anything about her family's dōjutsu just as Sasuke hasn't. Once she awakens it she will have to learn about it herself, once she does it will be her decision whether she'll tell anyone or not." Itachi said

"Surely you'd know then, seeing as you were to marry her." Orochimaru said as he looked down at Itachi.

"Neither I nor Sasuke were told of her powers as they wanted to wait until after the ceremony." Itachi replied in a calm manner.

"Very well then, Konan will show you to your rooms." Pein said as he nodded to Konan who immediately stood. Itachi, followed by Sasuke and Sakura, stood and followed her out of the room and down to where they had seen the hall of locked doors.

Once they were on the third floor Konan opened one of the doors on the left side of the hall. "This will be your room Itachi-san."

The room had a red queen sized bed across the room from the door a closet at its right and a door leading to a small bathroom to its left. A window was atop the bed and a fan was set on the ceiling. The walls were white and bare of any ornaments.

Itachi nodded in approval. "And the children?" He asked the woman who still stood in the doorway.

"For now they can share the room across from yours since we didn't think to prepare for other guests." She said though she didn't seem annoyed by the fact.

She made her way to the room opposite of his and opened the door to show it was arranged the same way his was. He nodded in approval once more. The children at his side though ran straight in with smiles on their faces at seeing a big bed.

Surely with that bed they wouldn't be as sore as they had been in the morning from sleeping on the ground.

"If you are in need of clothes or other such necessities you can go into the village and buy what you need from their stores. You can get as much as you want and put it on the Akatsuki tab, it will be taken out of whatever you make from missions. Make sure to wear the cloak though so the villagers know where your allegiance lies, it will make them less wary." Konan said. With that she walked down the hall and up the stairs.

"Itachi-kun, are we going to live here from now on?" Sakura asked from where she sat upon the bed. At this Sasuke stopped looking through the many boxes in the closet and looked to his brother.

Itachi nodded and motioned for them to follow him. "We should go buy supplies and some clothes."

Sakura and Sasuke nodded and followed after him, making their way out of the tower and into the village. This time around the villagers greeted them with warm smiles. Other children were let out of their homes and were running around, playing their games of tag or other. It didn't seem as gloomy as it had when they first arrived, despite the weather.

"I think I'm going to like it here." Sakura said with a smile as she and the Uchiha brothers went about the village, meeting new people as they did.

**Aniki: older brother.**

**Nisshoku: Eclipse (from what my friend said anyways)**

**Dōjutsu: Eye technique (like the sharingan or byakugan) **


	5. Chapter 4

***Waves white flag from behind desk* Umm I got lost on the road of life? **

**Alright, I know I said I'd try to write regularly but in my defense I did actually get lost on the road of life. The actual book I had wanted to publish is still a no go and honestly I haven't had much time to write the fan fiction. Between work, family, drama, and actual ideas for real books it's been kind of hard.**

**If this helps any; I did actually think hard on where this story was meant to go and I have everything figured out now. **

**I've even thought of sister stories to accompany this fan fiction. They will be basically the same except that in the other two Itachi never took Sasuke and Sakura with him. And in one of the other two one will have Sasuke take Sakura with him when he left Konoha and the other he will have left Sakura behind like in the actual story. I'm not sure how I intend to end those stories but I'm sure I'll figure something out.**

**I don't know when I'll actually get to writing them but I had written down some scenes for them. And since I already have much on my plate I plan on writing them after this story is done.**

**Also some of the things from the last chapters will be changed since they didn't go with what I now have planned. **

**Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Naruto or any of its characters. I, however, do own this story.**

"_Thoughts."_

"Inner/demon."

"Normal speech."

"**Black Zetsu."**

'Jutsu'

**Please R&R**

**Itachi 13 year's old – Sasuke 6 years old – Sakura 5 years old.**

**Chapter 4**

A month has passed and many things have changed. Pein started training Sakura and Sasuke, with Itachi's permission, of course. Two weeks into their training Sasuke managed to awaken his sharingan and Sakura followed soon afterwards with her own kekkei genkai.

I was soon revealed that Sakura had an affinity for water and she could sense everything and everyone in the village because of the rain much more naturally than Pein. This led Sakura to be adopted by Pein and Konan while her training would then be taken over by Kisame. Though she had been adopted nothing much had changed as she still shared a room with Sasuke and her schedule never changed.

Meanwhile, Sasuke's teacher changed to Itachi as he was the only one who could teach him their family's dōjutsu. Seeing as he still had a guardian, nothing else changed for Sasuke, which was just fine for him.

Now that their training had progressed much more efficiently Sasuke and Sakura were allowed to leave the safety of Amegakure and follow Itachi, Kisame, and Kakuzu on a mission. They knew it wasn't going to be anything fancy; just escorting a new member to Amegakure but it didn't change the fact that they were nervous.

"We should take some kunai." Sasuke mumbled as he ran around the room trying to find as many weapons as he could as Itachi stood at the entrance of their room.

"Maybe some senbon too, right?" Sakura asked, already having a handful and laying them next to a couple of kunai.

At that point Kisame walked by only to stand beside Itachi and looking into the room in curiosity.

"What are you brats doing? We should be heading out already." Kisame said.

"We're getting our weapons ready." Sakura answered with a smile then turned to Sasuke once more. "Should we get some explosion tags?"

"Explosion tags?" Kisame asked in surprise. "Do you gaki even know how to use those things?"

"Hn. No explosion tags." Itachi answered calmly as he walked in and took said tags from Sakura's hands.

Kisame heaved a sigh. "Why are you even packing? You're going to be with three S class shinobi, there won't be any reason for you to have kunai."

"Because we're ninja now and ninja are always prepared." Sakura answered as she strapped her small pack on her right thigh like she had seen shinobi do numerous times.

"You're not ninja yet." Kisame pointed out.

"Still, we should always be prepared for anything." Sasuke answered and then turned to Itachi. "Right, aniki?"

Itachi simply nodded though he had a strong urge to take the children's packs and show them how to properly assemble their weapons. "_I could teach them that later."_

"Well if you're done, we should really get going before Kakuzu decides to leave without us, then we're all in trouble." Kisame said as he turned and began to walk down the hall and out of their base.

"Wait for me, Kisame-sensei!" Sakura said as she ran after him only to be stopped by Itachi.

"Sakura-chan, have you said good bye to your father?" Itachi asked, stopping her in her track just at the edge of her door.

At first the thought of her being adopted by their leader hadn't sat well with him but there was not much he could do. Sakura needed a guardian and he couldn't be one for her. He'd join his family; he was sure, but not that way. If he had decided to become her guardian he'd only two options; adoption or marriage. As it was she was too young for marriage and she had already been promised to himself or Sasuke so neither option had suited him.

Now though he knew she would be well taken care of as Pein and Konan were unable to have children and Konan desperately had wanted to be a mother. The fact that he would be there over looking everything made him feel all the better.

"Yes, Itachi-kun." Sakura said with a smile.

"Let's go already." Sasuke said, excited at finally being able to go outside of the village.

"Race you." Sakura shouted and began to run out of their home.

Though they had gone through much training in the past month there was still much left to be desired about their stamina as they were panting once outside.

"I won!" Sasuke exclaimed in triumph as he turned to Sakura with a smirk.

"That's not fair, you cheated." Sakura argued with a pout.

"There's no way to cheat in a race, baka!" Sasuke replied

"Enough you two." Itachi said as they began to walk out towards the doors of the village.

The people of the village were no longer looking at them in fright but in admiration as the group bearing Akatsuki clouds made their way through the streets. The villagers without hesitation made way for them, smiles on their faces once they saw their god's child among the group. Of course the village had been notified of her status once she had been adopted, not that the villagers knew of the adoption.

"Finally; the admiration and praise I- I mean- we deserve!" Inner said with a haughty smile.

"_But why? We didn't do anything."_ Sakura thought as she smiled at the villagers who waved and smiled at her.

"Well we didn't do anything but our new father sure did. If it weren't for him this village would've probably kept being attacked by other ninja. Add to the fact that he started an organization promoting peace, these people think he actually is a god." Inner shrugged. "Since we're now his daughters, we're like an extension of him and the villagers expect just as much from us."

"_Is he really a god though?"_ Sakura asked in surprise.

Inner snorted at that. "No, the only one that could come as close to a god around here is me and I'm trapped in your mind."

"Hey, kid, stop spacing out we're going to start jumping through the trees and we can't do that if you don't hang on to one of us." Kisame said as he stood next to her.

Sasuke was already on Itachi's back and Kakuzu stood quietly next to them on the same branch. As it was they were now at the edge of the village and she couldn't even remember how they had gotten there so fast. She wasn't even tired and considering how far the edge of the village was from their base it would've made sense if she was tired now.

"I told you something was wrong." She heard Sasuke mumble causing a blush to burn her ears.

"Come on." Kisame said as he grabbed the back of her shirt much like he would grab a puppy and put her on his broad shoulders.

Once he was sure she held on he jumped to the trees and they began to run through the branches though Sakura was sure it was more like flying as she could hardly feel his feet land.

"When we return I'm foregoing all that meditating crap and focusing on teaching you how to get a hold of your chakra." Kisame muttered. "I don't care if it takes you longer to learn how to use your Nisshoku."

"But father said I had to learn how to use it as fast as I could." Sakura said.

"Yeah? Well what's the point in that if you can't even climb a tree? That would be as stupid as becoming a samurai." Kisame said, expressing his dislike of the people who focused solely on katanas.

"But I thought that before that we had to go to the academy." Sasuke said, turning questioning eyes to his brother.

"This is why I said there shouldn't be any children in the Akatsuki; they whine and cry too much. Not to mention that they never shut up." Kakuzu said as lead the way.

"I only asked one question." Sasuke defended himself.

"In any case I'd much prefer you didn't say such things in front of the children." Itachi said.

"And I'd much prefer to get this thing done without enemies being alerted to our presence because of these children." Kakuzu countered in a gruff voice.

With that the children became quiet once more until...

"So where are we going?" Sasuke asked causing Kakuzu to growl.

"Yugakure, or around there." Kisame answered. "It used to be a ninja village but then it was decided to become a normal village. It kind of got popular because of its hot springs."

"Oh cool. Are we going to be able to go to the hot springs?" Sakura asked with a huge smile.

"No, it costs too much money. Besides we're only here to get a jashinist." Grumbled Kakuzu.

"Oh." Sakura said though she didn't understand most of what he had said and turned to Itachi. "Will it take long?"

"Four days at most." He answered simply.

Sakura nodded and stayed quiet, fearing that her questions may actually bring attention of bad ninjas. After a couple minutes the weightless feeling lulled her to sleep and she laid her head on Kisame's shoulder.

The growling of her stomach was what woke her up a couple hours later causing her to grumble into Kisame's back.

"Figures you'd wake up by your grumbling stomach." Kisame snickered as he continued to fly through the trees.

At the moment the sun was now beginning to disappear in the horizon, making way for the moon and stars. The summer nights were usually quite nice but now that Sakura looked around to find herself in a forest and no rain in sight she couldn't help but fidget at the amount of warmth she now felt. She wiped the sweat from her brow, now taking notice how hot it actually was. This was no longer Amegakure that was for sure.

"Where are we?" She mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes that refused to stay open for more than a few seconds.

"In the land of fire." Kisame said causing her to become rigid. He looked back at her from the sudden tension he felt rolling off of her in waves.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a raised brow.

She turned to see Itachi running beside her with Sasuke having fallen asleep not long before her.

"We won't be coming in contact with the village, Sakura. We're also doing our best to avoid detection from any of the ninja in the area." Itachi said though he never turned to look at her in the eyes.

Sakura nodded but the nervousness dwelled within her belly causing her to fidget and look around her in worry. Thoughts of food long forgotten and her tummy ceased its growling.

"Here," Kisame said as he handed her a small pouch of dried fruits. "We can't afford to stop here."

"Ok, thank you, Kisame-sensei." Sakura mumbled though her hunger had subsided.

"Eat." Itachi commanded simply, knowing that she'd need to keep her strength.

With a nod Sakura began to eat though her mind refused to be bribed with food and continued to wander to that fateful night.

Sensing that something was wrong Sasuke began to stir from his sleep and looked around in confusion. The heat didn't bother him but something didn't seem right. When he turned to look at Sakura he was surprised to see her look so sad.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" Sasuke asked in concern.

"We're in the land of fire." She mumbled causing Sasuke to flinch.

He now understood why everyone was silent and why the weather seemed to be warmer than usual. Memories flash behind his eyelids and he fought hard to cease his mind from remembering.

He glanced at his brother, wondering when he would understand what he did. He had been told that it had been ordered by the Hokage and even if he hadn't done it someone else would've. Itachi had also told him that though it had seemed like what he did was wrong one day he'd understand why he went through with it.

Of course Itachi hadn't expected to be fooled so badly that the Hokage had even gone after the Haruno clan in his paranoid mind set. Even now he couldn't help but feel sick at having been used in such a way and no amount of water could wash away the blood that coated his hands.

He didn't even know if the Haruno's had actually been in on the coup. It was probable but he hadn't sure. Sure, all his clan had been killed but not all by his hand. In all actuality he hadn't killed anyone but his parents.

"Don't worry Sakura, if we keep training as hard as we can we will one day come back here and avenge our clan. We won't rest until they suffer." Inner grumbled as she glared at the forest they ran past.

Sakura agreed, knowing Sasuke had the same thoughts she did and would help her in her endeavor just as she would help with his. She also knew that her new father and mother would help and guide her as they understood her pain. Besides now that she had been promised to one of the brothers she knew her clan would not end with her alone. Of course she would think about that after the demise of those responsible occurred.

"We will rest here for the night." Kakuzu said as he landed in a clearing.

With Itachi's nod Kisame let Sakura down and he disappeared through the surrounding foliage.

"Where's Kisame-sensei going?" Sakura asked as she came closer to Sasuke who was now on his own two feet.

"Securing the area." Itachi replied as he went to the base of one of the nearby trees and sat down.

Sasuke and Sakura quickly followed and sat by his side as he opened his cloak and let them rest against him. Though it was too hot for Sakura's tastes she would deal with it if it meant sleeping in the safety of Itachi's arms.

If she could forget the horrible past for a moment she could almost imagine herself sitting outside the Uchiha head's house, looking up at the stars with Itachi and Sasuke like she had done once before. This time however the foliage of the trees blocked her view of the stars and the ground she sat on had not been flattened out nor had most of the rocks removed. It also didn't help that Kakuzu sat on the opposite side of them and would stare at her when her gaze happened upon him.

Still it was better than the looks Orochimaru sent her and Sasuke's way. With Kakuzu, at least she knew only stared because he was annoyed or curious at her own gaze but nothing more. No, Orochimaru's eyes always held something dark within them that left her feeling scared and dirty. Compared to that Kakuzu's annoyed look was light a ray of sunshine.

Once Kisame came back Sakura gladly closed her eyes, deeming her beloved sensei to be safe from the clutches of leaf shinobi.

Morning came all too soon and she suddenly found herself on Kisame's back once again as they flew past the forest once again.

"Mornin' princess." Kisame said with a smile having felt her breathing change and knew she'd wake up soon.

Seeing no danger around Sakura quickly let her head fall against his shoulder with a groan. In her sleepy state Sakura was about to forego her manner but quickly remembered her social standing, or what was left of it. If there ever was a time to show respect for the manner taught to her by her father, it was now.

"Good morning Kisame-sensei." She tried to say with as much grace as she could in the early hours.

"Who the hell turned on the light? I'm trying to sleep here!" Inner all but growled.

"_It's the sun silly."_ Sakura thought with a small smile though she did understand where inner was coming from.

"Who the hell wakes up at this time of day? Even the sun is barely starting to get up." Inner grumbled as she metaphorically got out of bed and wrapped herself in the blanket she had been using to look through Sakura's eyes.

"_We're in the land of fire."_ Sakura thought as if it cleared everything up.

Inner scoffed. "No kidding. I just don't see what the point is. It's not like they have sensors made specifically for us to warn them when we'd return. And even if they did who the hell would be scared of our five year old body? We can't even use any jutsu. The best you can do is hide in the shadows and turn into a wolf pup."

Sakura shrugged at that and turned to the outside world, not wanting to be caught off guard again. She turned to see Sasuke already awake and looking as bored as ever. She didn't know what she had expected out of the mission but she was sure this wasn't it. One look at Sasuke and she knew he thought the same.

"I'm hungry." Sakura whined. Honestly she didn't want to whine and prove Kakuzu right but at this point in time she couldn't help it. She was stuck on Kisame's back with nothing to do and she hadn't eaten since last night.

"Me too." Sasuke grumbled, his foul mood proving that he was not a morning person.

Kisame sighed in defeat. "Whose idea was it to bring these brats along?"

"I told you." Kakuzu grumbled back.

"There should be a small village nearby, we'll stop nearby and I'll go get something to eat." Itachi said, restraining a sigh and trying not to agree with his two team mates.

"But I'm hungry now." Sakura whispered to herself though she knew Kisame had most likely heard her.

Quickening their pace in order to quiet the children as fast as they could they arrive at their destination in record time, even having Kisame trying to restrain his gasping for air.

"Won't you easily be spotted though? I mean Uchiha are kind of extinct." Kisame said as he turned to see a small village through the trees a few feet away. "Even civilians should know about you by now."

No one however paid attention to him as Itachi quickly did a henge jutsu turning his hair blonde and eyes a light blue. Taking off his cloak and giving it to Sasuke he turned and left leaving Kisame talking to himself to which Sakura giggled.

Kisame did a double take upon seeing a blonde leave the area and Itachi nowhere in sight. With a grumble about having forgotten such a simple jutsu he sat down intent on waiting for the elder Uchiha.

The wait however was short lived as sudden screams erupted from within the village causing Sakura and Sasuke to jump.

"Did he mess up his jutsu or something?" Kisame wondered out loud as Kakuzu went to see what had happened, leaving Kisame to take care of the children.

When an explosion ignited the vicinity Kisame jumped back, a child in each arm and promptly setting them on the ground once again before clenching his fists at his side. Being one who lived to fight he was quite angry at having been left behind to take care of the children.

"Sakura!" Kisame quickly commanded, knowing something didn't feel right. "Get in my shadow and take Sasuke with you."

Sakura was surprised at the command and very much scared for Itachi. _"What if something happened to him?"_

"Sakura!" Kisame shouted with impatience.

Sakura quickly took Sasuke's hand and willed her power to work and she stepped on Kisame's shadow.

"Just think of it as entering a room Sakura. Imagine opening a door and going down some steps." Inner instructed the now shaky Sakura.

A gentle squeeze from Sasuke's hand calmed her enough to do as Inner had said. The process was a bit slow at first but once they took the first step in Sakura dragged Sasuke behind her into the shadow, seemingly disappearing into the ground.

Once they had disappeared Kisame took off into the civilian village to see…

**I'm terrible I know but I am going to post the next chapter up soon seeing as how I've managed to acquire some time to write. Seriously though; I wrote all this in one day. I know it's not much but I'm quite proud of it as I did it all without my beloved caffeine.**

**R&R :3**


	6. Chapter 5

**Yay, new chapter! I told you I had more time now :3**

**Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did I'd probably be very rich and happy.**

"_Thoughts."_

"Inner/demon."

"Normal speech."

"**Black Zetsu."**

'Jutsu'

**Please R&R**

**Itachi 13 years old – Sasuke 6 years old – Sakura 5 years old**

**Pein 22 years old- Konan 21 years old- Kakuzu 81 years old – Orochimaru 44 years old- Kisame- Sasori 25 years old - Hidan 13 years old**

**Chapter 5**

Once they had disappeared Kisame took off into the civilian village to see ragged bodies, torn apart, most likely because of the explosion. He didn't know how Sakura's power actually worked but he sure hoped the children couldn't see the damage. Despite loving the thrill of fighting he was sure the children weren't old enough to see such destruction. He knew they had seen something similar happen to their family he just didn't want them to see such things again so soon.

Shaking his head of such thoughts Kisame made his way through the wreckage, coming upon a woman, weeping as she held a bundle of bloodied cloth to her chest. He looked away as she turned her eyes to him, asking him to help her.

He had no loyalty to her, therefore couldn't care any less what happened to her and the dead child in her arms. He jumped onto a nearby building, taking a higher route to find his comrades. Kisame spotted them easily across the village, a cloud of dust just settling there.

Though Itachi had been the first on the scene he was not the one fighting. Instead Kakuzu stood in the middle of the dust covered ground, a deep frown evident on his brow as he evaded and exchanged blows with his opponent.

Kisame made his way to Itachi's side, having accepted that this was not to be his battle.

"Where are the children?" Itachi asked once Kisame had appeared. His brow furrowed, prepared to kill his teammate should he say he had left them behind, or worse had been killed.

Kisame on the other hand, motioned to his shadow that resided just behind him before casting his eyes once more on the fight.

The person Kakuzu was now fighting with a man, much younger than himself. He had medium-length silver hair that was slicked back and distinctive purple eyes. Just by looking at him one could tell that he was all that Kakuzu hated. He was young and overly brash.

"It seems our target had managed to find us." Itachi said, now that he knew the children were safe and out of harm's way.

"He seems to be a good fighter but I still don't see what caught the leader's attention." Kisame said and paused before turning to his teammate. "So, do we capture him?"

"Hn." Itachi said though he made no move.

Meanwhile Sakura and Sasuke sat within Kisame's shadow, marveling at the speed and strength of the ninja before them. They had averted their eyes when they had seen the destruction upon their arrival but now they couldn't seem to turn away. Their breath came in heavy gasps as they could feel the killing intent of the ninja.

They had heard Itachi and Kisame discussing the silver-haired ninja and instantly knew that their new family was about to expand by one.

In the clearing the destruction had created Kakuzu evaded another attack, intent on tiring him out as opposed to showing his many skills. Taking advantage of his cocky fighting style, if it could even be called that, he took a kunai and ran at him.

The silver- haired man only smirked and poised himself to use the triple-bladed scythe he had in hand.

It was all silent then as both managed to impale the other with their weapons. Though impaled in life-threatening places neither of them swayed or cried in pain before their eyes darkened in death. As a matter of fact neither of them seemed to have died and stayed in a deadlock with weapons protruding from their bodies.

Once noticing this and surprise having passed through the silver-haired man's eyes they jumped apart, blood running freely from their wounds.

"Looks like you're just like me." The man said with a smirk.

"I'm nothing like you." Kakuzu said with a frown. How dare the man before him assume that they were alike?

"Alright, this is going nowhere." Kisame said as he came up from behind the silver-haired man and knocked him out with a jutsu. Once he restrained him in case he came back to his senses quickly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kakuzu asked angrily as he stepped up to the shark-man.

"If this kept up, it would probably just end up in a draw and we'd have to fight our way out of here once other ninja began to show up. If that happened we wouldn't be able to tell this bastard why we were looking for him." Kisame replied as he frowned down at the stitched up man.

Kakuzu grudgingly agreed and nodded. "We should leave before nearby shinobi come wandering." He said in his baritone voice and vanished before their eyes.

It would've been better had Itachi used his sharingan, though, Kisame knew he wouldn't have raised a hand to help their comrade.

Kisame swung their new recruit over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and followed after the tanned ninja. Itachi followed after them, making sure they couldn't be traced.

They then stopped at a clearing, miles away from where the fight had occurred and far from any possible threats. The silver haired shinobi had yet to awaken and so Kisame called out to the children. If the ninja managed to get free of his restraints and became a danger to the children, Kisame was sure they'd be safe in the shadows once more. If even Itachi couldn't tell where they had been before he was sure the ninja before them wouldn't be able to find them either.

Not to mention that he had no idea how anyone else could get in without Sakura's approval.

"Itachi-kun, is that man really going to be part of our family?" Sakura asked as she sat next to him against a tree trunk.

"He doesn't seem as strong as you aniki." Sasuke chimed in, the adoration for his elder brother ever present.

"If he agrees." Itachi replied, his eyes staring at nothing in particular.

Sakura got closer to him, a smile spreading upon her lips. He could see her from the corner of his eye though he had no idea what had come over to make her act in such a way. In hindsight though, he should've seen it coming. She usually held such a smile when she was about to do something mischievous.

She stood, and began to brush any dust that might've clung onto her from where she had sat. She did so slowly, trying to give nothing away when all of a sudden she launched herself at him. His eyes widened for a moment at the sudden movement but his body did nothing to harm her, his mind knowing she wouldn't hurt him.

Her tiny arms wrapped around his neck, and her cheek rubbing his own. Her hands then came up to his face and two fingers hooked at the corners of his mouth. She stretched them up, forcing him to smile though to anyone else in the area he didn't look too happy. If anything the action made him look murderous rather than happy.

Sasuke on the other hand, being unable to see his dear brother as anything other than loving, began to laugh uncontrollably. His arms wrapped around his middle, trying to get his sides to stop hurting as he laughed.

Sakura who was now slightly behind Itachi began to giggle until Itachi flipped her over until she lay on his legs.

"That wasn't a wise move, Sakura-chan." Itachi smirked as he began to tickle her.

Her laughter rose until tears began to emerge from the corners of her eyes. She wriggled uncontrollably, trying to free herself from his grasp.

"Nooo! Itachi-kun, please! I'm sorry." She laughed in between sentences. "Tap out! Mercy!"

When he didn't give Sasuke began to join, beginning to tickle his brother's sides. When no laughter came from him he moved to force Itachi to smile.

"You too, Sasuke?" Itachi asked as he took a moment to let Sakura breath and grabbed his brother, giving him the same treatment.

It had surprised him that Sakura would begin the game when she had become so closed up after the massacres. He had thought she would never go back to being the same again. Now though he understood that, given enough time, she would go back to normal. Well, maybe, not entirely but surely close enough. Perhaps he too could go back to his old self again.

Maybe it was because of the change he had gone through that Sakura had begun the game? Maybe she had noticed?

"Aniki! Stop!" Sasuke screamed through his laughter. "Sakura, help!"

"Itachi-kun, smile more." Sakura said as she got behind him again, stretching his lips impossibly far, causing Itachi to flinch.

Having had too much now, he reached back and pinched her cheek until she let go.

"That's enough now." Itachi said as he held Sasuke off from another onslaught. "Go on with Kisame to catch some dinner."

Though he had liked that his brother and Sakura were having fun he could hardly lower his guard so much in front of the others. Not to mention that they had a stranger in their midst. Besides that he knew how much the two children could get carried away, thanks to Sakura's canine mindset.

"Aww, ok" Sasuke said as he got off from his brother's legs and waited for Sakura to follow Itachi's orders.

Sakura nodded, rubbing her slightly aching cheek and walked towards Kisame with Sasuke. With a chuckle Kisame left with the children, disappearing through the foliage in search of something edible. Hunting would have to suffice as their plans for prepared food had to be postponed.

"Too much to handle, Itachi-san?" Kakuzu asked with a small chuckle. If it weren't for the mask Itachi could swear the man was smirking at him.

"Not at all." Itachi answered. He knew how to control a couple of children. He had been made captain of the ANBU after all. A couple children were nothing he couldn't handle.

Kisame on the other hand smiled fully, showing off his razor sharp teeth as he walked side by side with the children. It surprised him that Itachi had dared to smile and play along with the children's antics. For as far as he had known him, Itachi always seemed so composed and stiff. It had seemed that they were complete opposites. Now he knew that all it took were a couple of children to bring out Itachi's soft side.

"Kisame-sensei, what are we going to eat?" Sakura asked as she looked around the forest.

"There should be a couple of deer around." Kisame said as he looked around until his eyes landed on a teary-eyed Sakura.

"We're going to eat a cute baby deer?" Sakura asked as she stopped walking and looked up at Kisame with big watery eyes.

"Err no; we're going to eat big grown deer." Kisame said, trying to ease her.

"But what if they have babies waiting at home?" Sakura asked.

"You ate deer that one time." Sasuke reminded her.

"Yeah, but I didn't know that and it was dead already." Sakura argued.

"This one's going to be dead too by the time we eat it." Kisame said with a smile, trying to show her it'd be fine.

He obviously didn't think it through as Sakura's watery eyes began to leak, a sniffle emanating from her.

"Stop crying Sakura. If we don't eat then we become weak and if we get weak we won't be great ninja." Sasuke said with a small frown.

"But…"Sakura whimpered as she wiped a tear away.

Kisame heaved a sigh. "Listen Sakura; we're killing it for our survival. I'm sure the deer would understand, just like it understands that it kills grass in order to survive. If it makes it any better I can show you how to kill it quickly so it doesn't feel any pain."

"It won't feel any pain?" Sakura asked in awe.

"No, it'll suddenly just wake up in heaven and it won't have to worry about anything anymore." Kisame said, hoping she understood what he was saying.

"That's where my family is now." Sakura muttered.

"Yes, and I'm sure they're happy there too. I bet the deer will go up there and tell them what a nice kunoichi you're becoming." He said, thankful that they were away from the others, knowing they'd probably ridicule him for his sappy comments.

"Could it send a message to my family too?" Sasuke asked, suddenly interested. He hadn't known animals could go to heaven too.

"I'm sure it will." Kisame said.

"Ok. Let's go get a deer then." Sakura said, know thinking of what message she wanted to send to her family.

Seeing the children suddenly happy and eager to kill a deer, Kisame wondered if what he had done had been right. He'd have to see to it that they understood before he let it get too out of hand. He didn't want to find dead animals wherever he went just because the children thought it was a good way to send messages to the dead. If his attempts were in vain he'd had to get Itachi or Pein involved.

After another talk however, the children understood that animals were only to be killed for food and not to send messages. Well, they understood once Itachi had clarified since Kisame hadn't been able to handle it. Teaching them about prayers had helped as they didn't need blood sacrifices.

The day had gone rather quickly and before they knew it dusk had come. It was at this time that the new ninja who had until this moment been, snoring finally stirred. Though the others knew he was close to waking Sakura and Sasuke were left oblivious as they laughed and talked with the group of ninja. They had a fire going since they had brought the deer and had left it on in order to not make another one once they went to sleep.

This was the scene the new ninja had woken up to.

"What the fuck?" were the first words that came from his mouth.

Sasuke and Sakura quickly turned to the new voice to see him begin to wriggle around and stare at them in confusion.

"What the hell kind of fucked up dream is this?" He asked to which Itachi appeared before him and punched him in the face.

"Such language is to be kept from the children." He said simply.

Sasuke and Sakura stayed by Kisame's side, worried now about what the ninja would do. They knew he was no match for Itachi but that didn't change the fact that he could possibly kill them.

"Ok, so it's not a dream." The man groaned as he turned to look up at Itachi then to the group huddled at the fire. "Akatsuki?"

Itachi nodded simply, waiting to see what the man would do now.

"So, what, then? I would've been killed by now if that had been you're mission. Or was I too hard to kill even while asleep?" He asked with a smirk, not at all concerned about his health.

"Hidan, you were chosen to join Akatsuki. If you accept then you will be taken to our hideout and given a cloak and ring, as well as missions of your own. If you do not accept you will be killed." Kakuzu said as a matter of fact.

"Are you serious?" Hidan asked with a raised brow.

The others simply stared at the man before them, ready to fight if need be.

"Yes, you can become part of our family or not." Sakura said with a frown, mirroring the men around her. She wasn't sure if they really meant to kill him if he didn't join but she was sure he'd be happy if he joined. Who wouldn't want to be part of a big family like hers?

"I'll join, but what's the deal with the brats? Are they here for me to kill to prove my loyalty or something?" He shrugged. "I've got no problem with that. Jashin-sama might like it if I give him fresh sacrifices."

Itachi punched him once again. "They are not to be touched. If any harm comes to the children you will be dealt with."

"Does that mean he's part of our family now?" Sasuke asked curious to know if it was safe to approach now.

Itachi nodded as he went to free the ninja, careful to keep his guard up in case of anything. Once free the man simply rubbed at his aching wrists, cursing at the chakra enhanced shackles.

"Next time, try to leave a little room for movement, those fucking things nearly cut off my hand." Hidan said as he made his way to the fire and sat across from the children. "Do you guys have any fucking food around here? I'm starving."

"For someone who's nearly impossible to kill, you sure whine a lot." Kisame said as he stared at the man before him.

Itachi sat between the man and Kisame who had the children sitting on his lap now. Sasuke moved from Kisame to Itachi's side, glancing at the new member of his family.

Kisame turned to Kakuzu with a smirk. "Seems like you're going to have your hands full with this one, seeing as he's going to be hard to kill and all."

"It's just going to be more fun to try." Kakuzu said with a small frown.

"You can have my left overs." Sakura said a she walked to the man with a piece of meat covered in leafs.

"Thanks brat." Hidan said as he snatched from her hands and began to eat.

Sakura frowned at that. "My name's not brat, It's Sakura. Kakuzu-san says that we should call others by name because not doing so could offend someone."

"Like I give a fu-" Hidan began to say until his face met with Itachi's fist once again.

"I did say that such language was not for the children's ears. Take care how you speak to them." Itachi said.

Though he didn't like the man's foul language it seemed that for now he wouldn't try anything against his charges. If he did, the children knew of a place where the man couldn't reach them. Add to the fact that the new member would have three angry Akatsuki members to be wary of.

"What the hell is Akatsuki doing with children though? Are you running some kind of day care now?" Hidan asked as he dug into the food that had been offered to him.

"Any questions you may have can be answered when we arrive at headquarters." Kakuzu said, a headache already appearing at the onslaught of questions the new member threw at them.

Even the children didn't ask so many questions nor did they whine so much. Given this, he knew that fun he could have at trying to kill his new partner would not win out against the annoyance he was. Perhaps he shouldn't have killed his last partner. He could've probably dealt with his gluttony.

Kakuzu's eye twitched. No, that partner had cost his too much money. Maybe the annoyance before him wouldn't cost him as much. Surely he could deal with it. Right?

The next morning after having been annoyed far too much Kakuzu tried to kill the new member only to hear more whining. At this point Kakuzu had had enough and set the children on him. Give him a taste of his own medicine. Surely the children would annoy him beyond reason and he'd keep his mouth shut the rest of the way.

Of course it backfired as the rest of the trip had gone on with nonstop chatter. It only grew quiet when they were to pass by other ninja but quickly resumed when the danger had passed. Though the children had been fairly curious of everything that had to do with the new ninja he was also curious about them.

The children were happy to have someone to talk to who seemed just as curious as they were but were careful not to say too much. It annoyed Hidan when a question would cause the children to look at each other in worry then tell him he'd find out soon. Figuring that they probably didn't know much either way his annoyance quickly vanished. Why would a couple of children know anything about the organization anyways?

They were probably kidnapped and well on their way to being killed. Then again that didn't explain why Itachi had hit him every time he cursed around the children. If he really took the time he could see the resemblance between the young boy and Itachi. That didn't explain why he took care of the girl though.

When questioned, the children looked at each other and answered the same annoying response.

"You have a pretty necklace." Sakura chirped then, trying to change the subject, knowing they were closer to her home.

"I thought jewelry was for girls." Sasuke said as he scrunched up with face in distaste.

"Nuh-uh, Itachi-kun has a necklace too." Sakura said with a small frown aimed at him.

"That's just because you gave it to him." Sasuke said.

"I have it cause it's from my religion." Hidan replied, seeing Sakura in front of him clinging onto Kisame's back and Sasuke clinging to Itachi's.

"That doesn't look like anything I've seen." Sasuke replied with a small frown.

"That's cause not a lot of people know about it. In this religion it gives you immortality, that's why no one can kill me, cause Jashin-sama gave me immortality." Hidan said with a smirk.

"Cool." Sasuke said with awe in his eyes.

"Why did he give you im-mor-ta-li-ty?" Sakura asked, scrunching up her face in an attempt to say the word correctly. She knew what the word meant; she just had a tough time pronouncing it right.

"Because; I follow his rules. I always give him the best sacrifices." Hidan said, proud of the fact.

"Wait, I thought sacrifices were bad." Sasuke said, turning to Itachi with a raised brow.

"He only kills bad people." Itachi quickly said then turned to Hidan with a frown. "Right?"

Feeling the killing intent rise Hidan quickly nodded his head. Jashin could hardly care who died, just as long as he was fed. Figuring the children didn't need to know that he just agreed with the Uchiha before him.

Feeling a sudden onslaught of rain pouring on him Hidan quickly cursed. He could've sworn the climate had changed dramatically just now.

"Father is here!" Sakura quickly said, sitting up straight on Kisame's back.

Hidan looked around but couldn't see anyone, just trees and shrubbery. The forest would probably keep on until a couple more miles and he had yet to find any chakra signatures, save for the ones surrounding him.

"Mother is with him too." Sakura said with a grin.

The group suddenly stopped and dropped the children on the tree branch they stood on.

"Let them know we'll be there in a moment. Take Sasuke with you." Itachi said.

With a nod Sakura quickly took Sasuke's hand and disappeared in a nearby shadow. Hidan's eyes widened, feeling their chakra suddenly disappear. It wasn't suppressed. It quite literally just vanished. He neared checked the area where the children had gone but couldn't find them. His eyes then turned downward. Maybe they fell off and died?

Looking back at a chuckling Kisame his eyebrow lifted up in confusion. The elder Uchiha didn't seem at all phased at the sudden disappearance and just began to leave. Hidan quickly followed, unable to figure out what had just happened. Maybe they had been killed?

Sakura on the other hand appeared along with Sasuke behind Pein from his shadow. Pein and Konan quickly turned to them with a smile. They were on the highest floor of their home, overlooking the village. Konan took both of the children in her arms, welcoming them with a hug. Upon seeing that neither child was hurt she let go of them.

"Itachi-kun said they'd be here soon." Sakura said with a smile.

Nodding at that Pein went back into his study, making sure everything was set for their return.

"So tell me, how was your trip? I thought you'd be back later." Konan said as she led the children inside and out of the rain.

**TBC**


End file.
